Solidarity
by Cedlurcer
Summary: Craving to finally confess her true feelings to Link but afraid to open her heart, Saria devises a scheme with Skull Kid to finally get the boy of her dreams. But when things go awry she'll get far more than she bargained for. Link x Saria with light Saria x Skull Kid & Link x Navi, Rated T just to be safe.
1. The Deal

It was a soothingly taciturn afternoon in the Lost Woods, save for the harmonious echo of Saria's ocarina she played evermore by her comfortable stump near the Forest Temple. Today though was different, as the trees did not resound with the merry jingle of her famous song, but rather a far more somber, almost depressed tune, one that closely resembled the Song of Healing. The normally cheerful and spritely mood of the Kokiri beauty was dulled today, a panging symphony of loneliness playing through her little chest as her mind swam with longing visions of the boy she had loved since the first time she had held him in her arms, which was when his dying mother entrusted him to her when he was a babe ten years ago. Link. Just his name alone caused a rush of warmth and affection to cascade down Saria's spine to her small feet, sighing hazily in between the notes on her ocarina.

She knew she had always loved him, she was his caretaker and best friend, she was there to support him when Mido accused him of killing the Great Deku Tree and was the one to see him off safely on his adventure to save Hyrule. Oh, how she missed him so much, the yearning longing to just hold him tightly and protectively to her bosom like she always used to do to comfort him if he'd been bullied by Mido ( right after she'd given the Kokiri leader a sharp pinch of course ) Oh how she craved for those nostalgic sweet, blissful days of innocence with Link before he'd been summoned by the Great Deku Tree and everything changed so much. It had been months now since she'd seen him and more and more often she found herself weeping softly over the prospect of losing her best friend of ten years. Saria couldn't lose him, her heart couldn't take that, anything but that… how desperately now she wanted to confide her true feelings to Link, to tell the boy who made her heart flutter every time she looked into those big beautiful blue eyes of his just how much she wanted him to be hers.

But even if luck so happened that he did return to the Kokiri Forest, Saria knew in the back of her mind as much as she hated to admit it she'd never have the courage to confess to Link no matter how much her aching heart urged her to, she couldn't risk jeopardizing their friendship which meant the entire universe to her, not for anything… In a more hopeful, optimistic shade of the green haired girl's conscience she suspected that maybe, just maybe Link did carry mutual feelings of affection for her as well but she simply could not take such a chance to find out, she'd rather her heart cry in agony then be ripped forcefully in two inside her ribcage. Saria sighed again as she let her ocarina depart from her soft lips, for once in her life not finding the willpower to even play a sad song, her emotional drainage obviously taking its toll on her. Physically as well, the young Kokiri hadn't slept well in weeks due to visions of Link permeating through her troubled dreams in the middle of each night, often leading to Saria awakening with teardrops staining her cheeks and pillow.

She was just about ready to start her trek back to the Kokiri Village and perhaps try to chance a small nap when she heard footsteps behind her. Her blue eyes widened as she let out the smallest of a gasp, was someone else in the Sacred Forest Meadow? For the longest time she had the small satisfaction of calling these hallowed grounds her secret place where she could play her ocarina in peace, but the presence of someone slowly edging up behind her, a wiry shadow being cast over the small forest girl who was now trembling softly in fear.

"Well, well, well." a mischievous almost sardonic sounding dialect broke the tension. "I was wondering where I might find you."

Saria recognized that voice, and it caused a small shiver to rush up her spine as she timidly glanced behind her at the intruder. It was the Skull Kid standing just a few meters away from her, his flute in his hands with an irritated expression under the bleached skull mask Link had gifted him a few month's prior. "The whole day you've been playing that sad song!" he exclaimed, obviously frustrated.

"What happened to that other song you used to play all the time? That was so much better! Play that song again!"

Now, Saria was almost always a sweet and incredibly patient young girl, but her distraught emotions today combined with the Skull Kid's rude, snappish attitude towards her was not a good combination. Picking herself up she walked straight over to the dark skinned imp and forcefully grabbed him by the front of his tunic, pulling his face close to hers.

"Now you listen here, buster!" she growled, green brows furrowing menacingly.

"This is my ocarina, not yours. Therefore, I will play whatever song I feel like playing, whenever I feel like playing it? Got it?!" she near shrieked it into Skull Kid's face, who was now a quivering mess in her grasp, fear evident in his red eyes.

"U-uh… I-I...I'm sorry, miss." he stammered.

It was at this moment that Saria snapped back to her senses and realized just how mean she had sounded. "Oh my Goddess…." she whispered, immediately releasing Skull Kid before putting her hands to her face, breaking into a bout of awful, tired weeping. The masked imp stood dumbfounded before the now sobbing Kokiri girl, and though he was far from having a shred of empathy inside of him did feel a small pang of concern for how upset she was.

"A-ahah…" he cleared his throat, not knowing whether to try and console her or leave her be.

"I… I didn't mean to insult your new song, it really wasn't that bad… you can play it more if

you want to.."

Saria only cried more at this, causing Skull Kid to panic even more, not used to this.

"I-I…! P-please don't… do that crying… tears… thing. I liked the song, okay? It's a really good song!"

"I-it… it's not about the song…" Saria whimpered, trying to wipe her now stinging, puffy eyes with the heel of her hand. "I-I'm sorry about that, I've just b-been… r-r-...really upset l-lately…"

Skull Kid rubbed the back of his neck anxiously.

"But why? Is it about those Mad Scrubs that have been showing up lately? I'm pretty sure it's just their mating seaso-"

"N-no, no. It's not t-that… I… I just r-really… miss Link…" Saria shivered again as she breathed out his name, a few more tears threatening to spill from the corners of her deep blue eyes.

"Oh, you mean Kokiri Kid…?" Skull Kid mused. Truth be told, he and Link did have somewhat of an awkward friendship, and the imp did enjoy the skull mask the young blond gave to him, but he didn't care that much about the other male to lose sleep over him, in fact he had barely thought of him at all in his months long absence, aside from wearing the small trinket on his face everyday now in his ambition to look tougher. "Where's he been anyways?"

"A-away…" Saria answered blearily."Away, a-and… at this point I-I don't think he's ever going to return…" the waterworks surged up again and Saria was once more covering her face as her hot tears trickled through her slender fingers. Skull Kid blinked unnerved, having not realized the severity of the situation. Slowly, he reached forward and in a rare display of endearment very lightly patted Saria's right elbow with his fingertips.

"There, there…" he said lowly, not able to think of anything else to say that could comfort the crying Kokiri. "I'm sure you're just exaggerating. Kokiri Kid's alright, he wouldn't leave forever without telling you."

Saria lightly peeked up at him from under her green fringe, her gorgeous eyes still quietly dripping tears.

"I… I wish I could believe you…" she whispered. "I r-really, really do… I-I appreciate you trying to make me feel b-better, I r-really do, but…" she let out another small sigh. "He… he's just so important to me… losing him would be losing my will to exist… I… I just can't live w-without him by my side… I love him…." she blushed softly, feeling a tad embarrassed for telling this to someone other than her fairy, especially to one as slippery and naughty as the Skull Kid, but the swarthy imp seemed to understand just how much this meant to her, obviously still a tad perturbed from witnessing her cry so hard over this. "W-well…!" he exclaimed giving her another small tap on the elbow.

"I guess I kind of understand now why you were playing that sad song, you obviously have a lot going on!" he let out his notorious laugh which only caused the still tearful Saria to merely sigh and turn her back on him.

"Well, I'm sorry to have bothered you…" she mumbled. "I think I'd best be heading back to the Kokiri Village now."

"Hey wait!" Skull Kid replied, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Look… You obviously have the hots for Kokiri Kid, so why not just tell him and get if off your chest?"

Saria looked back at him from behind her shoulder, her eyes still shrouded under her bangs.

"It's a bit more complicated than that… even if Link did return one day I couldn't just tell him out of the blue… h-he… he's shy, he wouldn't be able to comprehend it or he'd completely misinterpret the meaning, it just wouldn't work…"

"Well it definitely won't work if you maintain that pessimistic mindset! But I think I know a way it could work, I can help you." Skull Kid responded, smiling at the green haired girl from underneath his mask. Saria blinked owlishly a few times, did Skull Kid just offer to help her?

"Y-you… would really help me?" she asked dubiously, but with a small hint of hope in her delicate voice. "Sure! Afterall, you being all sad and weepy like this is no good for the forest… besides, I want to hear you play young song again."

A small smile crept onto Saria's beautiful face as she turned to face Skull Kid. "If you were to truly help me… then I promise to play my song every day for you from now on."

Skull Kid beamed happily. "It's a deal then!" he exclaimed shaking hands with the Kokiri girl.

Saria nodded, still feeling a tad insecure about all this but at least feeling a bit alleviated from her depression. "S-so… what did you have in mind?" she asked quietly. "Well!" Skull Kid answered. "If your Kokiri Kid is truly that hotshot hero he set out to be, then he'd obviously return here in a heartbeat if there was a damsel in distress in need of rescuing." Saria blinked again. "D-damsel in distress?"

"Okay, here's my plan. I'll "_kidnap_" you, Kokiri Kid finds out, he comes to your rescue, he and I duel it out, he saves you and in that moment you tell him your feelings and voila! You live happily ever after, end of story, goodbye, the end! Any questions?"

Saria's soft lips parted softly as she pondered this epiphany. "T-that…." she whispered. "That actually sounds like a splendid idea…" The very prospect of being reunited with Link with him as her rescuer caused the little Kokiri girl to swoon a tad. "Skull Kid, you're a genious!"

The imp beamed and puffed his chest out with pride. "Oh, but aren't I?"

Saria smiled and giggled softly before a concerning thought washed over her.

"Hey…" she asked. "Did you say you two were going to duel?"

"Well, of course we have to duel! That'll add to the authenticity of our ploy." Skull Kid remarked.

"But you don't have to worry about your Kokiri Kid getting hurt, I'll go easy on him."

"It wasn't so much him I was worried about as it was you…" Saria replied, rolling her eyes.

She very much knew Link was well accomplished with the sword and slingshot whereas she doubted Skull Kid had even been in a fight in his life despite his occasional bullyish streak.

"Well… here's to… true love!" she exclaimed, hope filling her small body once again.

'_And Goddess protect me if this imp doesn't keep his side of the deal_...' she thought.

* * *

**My first Zelda fic, let me know what you think?**


	2. The Plunge

The grotto was dark, and a tad too windy. Saria felt a chill run down her bare legs as she followed Skull Kid down the dimly illuminated passageway. Her new partner in crime had lead her to a remote cave off the coast of Lake Hylia, after insisting that the enigmatic shroud of the Lost Woods wasn't a suitable enough location for one to rescue a persecuted maid.

"How did you find this place, anyways?" the Kokiri girl mused aloud to herself, casting a questioning gaze to her masked companion.

"What? This old cavern?" Skull Kid responded, glancing around. "I'd been out to visit here when I came across the old man who lives in the lighthouse. He said he'd give me a reward if I found some eyeball frogs for him. While I was looking I found this little spot and I've used it as a storage ever since." with that he burst out into a rout of his eerily irritating laughter. Saria rolled her eyes, slightly impressed though that the imp had at least attempted to do a favor for something.

"So did you ever find those frogs for that man?"

"Hm? What? Oh no, by the time I'd found this place my interests were someplace else. I wonder what he would have given me though?" he pondered his own rhetorical question, red eyes gleaming at the possibilities of treasure the elderly chemist might have provided him with.

"Maybe he would have given me a full chest of masks!"

Saria couldn't hold back a giggle as she once again rolled her eyes.

"Don't you already have a mask, though?"

"Well, of course. But you can never have too many masks! One day I hope I'll find the greatest mask in existence… and to wear it, as well. Forever..." his shifty red eyes glimmered with a hint of ambition and greed, which once again unnerved Saria. Truth be told, the green haired heroine was still finding difficulty in trusting her newfound associate and being alone with him in this dark, windy grotto only made her feel more uneasy.

"I… I wish you luck with that." she whispered, nervously clasping her hands together in front of her. "H-how much further might we have ahead of us?"

"Not much further, there's a small chasm nearby that'll be the perfect place to keep you." Skull Kid gesturing for Saria to hug closer to the cavern walls as they edged past a cave waterfall.

"Mind you, you're going to get a bit wet, most of these caves are underwater half the year."

Saria gulped as she chanced a gaze down the seemingly endless abyss in front of her.

"W-well, it's not that half of the year, is it?"

"No! Of course not! Well… I think it's not…. um….. when did we have our last big rainfall….?"

The slow flush of color from Saria's cheeks mixed with the fearful look in her wide eyes made it apparent to Skull Kid he wasn't helping in the matter.

"Look, the chasm I'm choosing for you doesn't flood. You'll be perfectly fine until Kokiri Kid comes to your rescue. Just so long as you listen t- What the?!"

The top of Skull Kid's red hat had brushed across something on the ceiling, awakening it and causing it to start fluttering rapidly around the perplexed duo. It was a Keese, angry to have been awoken from its slumber and arousing more of its colony as it swooped around Skull Kid, trying to bite him as the imp swatted the air to try and keep the bat at bay. Before long a cloud of Keese were swarming around Skull Kid who soon hit the deck so that they then turned their sights on poor Saria. Closing her eyes and raising her hands to protect herself, the Kokiri maiden lost her footing on the slippery ledge and fell down into the gorge. The fall was instantaneous and before Saria even had a moment to react, to scream, to even open her eyes she was submerged in cold water, desperately flailing shortly afterwards to keep her head above the water. She barely knew how to swim having almost never been near a body of water in her entire life. One of Saria's small hands found a nearby rock, which the small Kokiri desperately clung to for dear life coughing and shivering. Looking up from under her locks of wet, green hair she saw to her great relief that Skull Kid was up there and had managed to ward off the disgruntled Keese. She chanced only a moment to lift one of her trembling, slender arms from the rock, waving frantically at him. He saw her and knelt down by the edge, putting his hands to his mouth to call out to her over the roar of the waterfall.

"Are you alright?!" he asked as loud as he could.

"Y-...Yes!" she called back, immediately clinging to the slippery boulder with both hands again.

"B-but… But I t-think I'm slipping! P-please help me!" she cried out. Skull Kid raised his hand assuringly, trying to calm her.

"I will! I will! I'll go get a ladder or….. or….." it was then out of the corner of his eye that Skull Kid noticed what lay on the very ridge of the ledge. It was Saria's ocarina which had fallen from the girl's belt before she slipped. It now lay before him, a few droplets of water glistening softly off of it to only add to its shimmer. Standing up, the imp slowly trotted over to it, picking it up and examining it curiously in his gloved hands, lightly drying it off with the back of his wrist. Saria blinked softly as she lifted her head back up to stare with wide eyes, immediately recognizing what Skull Kid was holding.

"T-that… that's my ocarina! P-please just gently put it down for a moment and help me…."

Skull Kid however, remained unresponsive, continuing to gaze at the tiny vessel flute as his red orbs slowly dilated with awe. Tentatively, he placed the windway to his beak and blew air into it, resulting in a small note echoing across the cavern walls. Skull Kid's expression immediately lit up with delight and eagerness before permeating to a look of cannaiving greed as he grasped his new prize tightly to his chest. Originally he had only helped Saria so that she would play her song for him as much as he wanted her to… but now that he had the ocarina, he could play the song himself to his heart's content, with an instrument that produced a sound much sweeter than his old wooden flute. Now completely transfixed in his own little wants and desires, the imp's apathetic side showed its true colors as he continued to disregard the distressed Kokiri girl who was struggling as desperately as she could to stay afloat, her grasp on the rock continuing to weaken.

"Skull Kid!" she called out to him, tears starting to stream down her already wet face. "Skull Kid, please! We had a deal!"

He had his back completely turned to her by this point, and soon Skull Kid was shuffling away back to the entrance of the grotto, her ocarina clutched possessively in his betraying hands.

Saria wanted to sob, for not only had she been left to die but to add insult to injury her most treasured item had been stolen from her. She didn't have a chance to grieve though, for finally her evermore trembling hold on the rock finally gave out and the poor Kokiri girl once more found herself submerged under the icy water, the falls carrying her down the narrow ravine as she was bounced to and fro, struggling to catch a gasp of air every few seconds before finding herself completely underwater once again. The rolling waters were merciless on the small girl and just as though she thought she would finally faint and then ultimately drown, Saria slid through a small cutaway in between the rocks of the ravine. She cried out as she fell through a complete void before once more hitting water. She kicked her tiny legs as hard as she could to keep her head above surface as she glanced frantically around her new surroundings. A single rock in the center of the pool was the only offer of sanctuary, which the Kokiri girl immediately began paddling as hard as she could to, climbing atop it with trembling arms before sprawling out on her back, taking a few deep breaths as shivers ran throughout her soaked little body. She gazed up from where she had fallen from, the crevice far above her now and offering only a small beam of light down on her in the otherwise pitch chasm. She pulled her knees up to her chest, curling up as she realized the helplessness of her situation.

'_How foolish I was to have trusted him_...' she internally chastised herself, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes for making this dreadful mistake.

Once again though, a small beacon of hope arose in the Kokiri girl as she heard the familiar sound of her emerald fairy, Tzia emerge from her wet hair, hovering around her with conern.

"Hey! Saria! Are you okay?" the shimmering winged orb asked her with concern.

"T-Tzia!" Saria responded, sitting up to gently hug her fairy gently in her hands.

"Oh, thank the Goddess! I-I'd almost forgotten."

Tzia nuzzled into her keeper's palm affectionately, deeply worried for how cold her skin felt.

"Saria, I need to get you out of here…! Please, tell me what I can do to help you."

Saria continued to gently pet her fairy, her mind racing as to what must be done. She was exhausted and soaked, deep inside a dark cave only Skull Kid knew about, and she no longer had her ocarina so she couldn't keep in contact with… _Link_… and then everything clicked. As much as it pained Saria to do this she knew she had no other choice.

"Tzia." she gently instructed. "Go find Link, okay? Go find Link and explain everything to him… a-and please tell him I'm sorry…"

Tzia listened attentively, not liking the sorrow in her keeper's voice.

"Saria, are you sure…?"

"Yes, please… it's the only way. Please, Tzia, promise me."

"Of course, Saria! I promise! I'll return for you as soon as I can, okay? Just hold on, please!"

The two hugged once more before Tzia darted up out of the cavern as fast as her little fairy wings would take her. Saria watched her leave, feeling another chill run through her now that her only companionship was gone and she was completely alone and isolated now. What upset her the most though, was the guilt… all she could think of at this moment was Link, and how her own carelessness had brought her even more apart from him.

"O-oh, Link…" she whispered, putting her hands to her face as she started to quietly weep alone in the watery solitude. "P-please forgive me…"

After a half hour of bitter crying the exhausted Kokiri girl passed out, lying limp on the rock.


	3. Descension

The sun was setting on the horizon when Link had finally cleared the Dodongo's Cavern. After just barely escaping the bearhugs of some very burly and jovial Gorons, the young Hylian was settling in for the night along the ridge leading up to Death Mountain, his newly acquired Spiritual Stone tucked safely away in his pack.

"Just one more to go, Navi." he quipped, putting his hands behind his head as he leaned up against some leaves he had gathered for his bed. "Tomorrow we'll head up to see the Great Fairy, and then we'll set off for the Zora's Domain."

"Hey! Listen!" his chatty little companion responded. "You should find shelter in the Goron City, it's much warmer in there."

"I'd rather not, those big guys still look like they're going to squeeze me to death if I approach them. Besides, it's not even that cold out-" a brisk chill swept down the mountainside, immediately causing Link's teeth to chatter as he lightly put his arms around himself.

"You were saying?" Navi responded sarcastically, though she almost immediately nuzzled up gently to her shivering boy, trying to offer him some warmth with her soft blue fairy glow. Link carefully cupped his hands over her, caressing his Navi's back with his finger as she rubbed her tiny cheek against his.

"There, not so bad now, I hope?" she purred, the quiet elf only nodding slightly as he settled back against his makeshift bed, still holding Navi close as she continued to snuggle into him.

Link was asleep almost instantaneously, exhausted from another long day with another to follow the next morning. Navi gently kissed his smooth cheek as she peered up at him with subtle concern. For a ten year old boy, Link had already experienced so much and their adventure together had only just begun! She was worried for his wellbeing, especially since he had only narrowly dodged being crushed by King Dodongo a few hours prior.

"One day we won't have to worry about any of this…" she whispered, hovering down to Link's chest and curling up against his green tunic. "It'll all be…" she yawned, her blue eyes feeling heavy. "A distant memory in the _twilight_…" with that fairy and keeper were both away in Dreamland.

Tzia had been searching for hours now, having flown across all of Hyrule Field, the Castle, and Kakariko Village, the green fairy was now exhausted and desperate. Just as the prospect of ever finding Link was becoming increasingly hopeless Tzia passed by a guard clad in a Keaton Mask, who mentioned something of a young boy having a fairy just like her. After immediately inquiring further she discovered that Link had gone up Death Mountain, so now there she was, flying up it as fast as a little fairy could possibly fly. Finally, Tzia spotted the sleeping Hylian just a little up past Goron City, relief rushing through her as she dove for him, colliding softly into his chest as her tired wings finally gave out.

"LINK!"

The startling impact mixed with something screaming his name instantly awoke Link from his rest, starting up abruptly as he looked this way and that as to who had just thrown a small stone at him. It was then that he realized that it was no stone, but rather a weeping and near faint green fairy.

"Tzia!" he exclaimed, gently holding the tiny girl in his palms. Navi was now wide awake also, carefully holding her fairy sister close as Tzia wept against her.

"Tiza, what's wrong…? Where's Saria?" Link asked, worry edging in his soft voice at the condition she was in. After recovering somewhat from her crying spell, Tzia looked up from Navi's shoulder, lightly biting her quivering lip.

"She…" she knew she shouldn't have lied, especially not to Link, but she did for Saria's sake.

"S-she's been kidnapped…!" immediately Link's eyes went wide at the prospect of his closest friend in the entire world being stolen away, unable to fathom it as his legs began to go weak.

"W-who, Tzia? Who kidnapped her?" he whispered, planning to run his Kokiri Sword through whatever passed through the fairy's lips. Their eyes met, and Tzia knew what had to be done.

"Sk-... Skull Kid…" and with that she fainted in Navi's arms. The blue fairy gently cradled her sister closer, staring up at Link with wide fearful eyes. "W-what do we do, Link?"

He did not respond, back to his general mute self for his tongue was too dry now to utter a single word. Pulling his scabbard and sword back over his shoulder, and with both fairies in hand he began to run down Death Mountain as fast as his little legs would take him.

'_I'm on my way, Saria..._' he thought, determination across his youthful face. '_Please forgive me..._'

* * *

**Bit of a short chapter, catch any of the references?**


	4. Cold Unwelcome

It had taken almost two days to trek all the way down Death Mountain, through Kakariko Village, and across Hyrule Field on foot, though Link never once stopped to rest, he would not stop for anything, despite already being sleep deprived from the night before. He would continue onward, for another two more days more if need be, his mind was racing and all he could think of was Saria… and in the very far back of his head what he was going to do to Skull Kid when he got his hands on the dark imp. His two fairy comrades now flew diligently on either side of him, both now remaining uncomfortably quiet as Link had been silently unresponsive ever since the beginning of their rescue mission. By the time they had finally reached the tunnel that would lead to the Kokiri Village, Navi couldn't help herself.

"Hey! Listen!" she piped up, concern laced in her voice for her keeper. "You should get some rest at your house once we're back in the Village! You look exhausted…"

The blond stubbornly shook his head a tad, despite the truthfulness of his fairy's scrutinization. Dark circles were starting to form under Link's eyes, all the color flushed from his pale cheeks. As they crossed the bridge the Hylian slowed his pace for just a moment, to softly inhale the wistful aroma of his forest home that had been absent from his scent for far too long. This was where Saria had seen him off as well, where she had given him his ocarina…

The calm serenity of the village was a given that the Kokiris were not yet aware of Saria's capture, though it only took Link a few steps down the trail before the forest was abuzz. Fado spotted him first.

"Link's back!" she cried out, in a voice loud enough to echo off into the Lost Woods.

"Link's back?!" one of the Know-It-All-Brothers exclaimed, popping his head up from the garden. This process repeated itself until all the Kokiris in the village had amassed around Link, the air permeated with their voices.

"Link! I can't believe it, you're really back!"

"Where have you been this whole time?"

"Link, where'd you get that bracelet? Did you get it for me?"

"No! He obviously got it for me!"

"Is that a Hylian Shield!? Are you a knight now?"

"_Did you die_?!"

Link barely had a moment to register any of the questions he was being peppered with when a sharp whistle caused the whole crowd to subside their voices, now taciturn as Mido pushed his way to the front, glaring at Link.

"Well, well, well. Look who had the nerve to show up again." he sneered, his foot tapping compulsively as it almost always did. "Look Mr. No Fairy, you're not welcome back here anymore! Since you killed the Great Deku Tree we've had nothing but problems!" Navi glared at Mido, ready to give the narcissistic Kokiri leader a good fairy pummeling, but Tzia gently put her hand on her sister's shoulder to hold her back.

"Now." Mido persisted. "You'd better turn around if you know what's good for y- Whaaa!?"

Link, who was still remaining deathly quiet simply pushed Mido down like the bully used to do to him when he was younger and walked past him, heading to the ledge that lead to the Lost Woods, Navi and Tzia following in his wake. Humiliated, fuming and confused, Mido quickly got back to his feet, dusting himself off.

"Where do you think you're going?! Don't turn your back on me! Answer me!" Link continued to ignore him, already scaling up the vines. "Are you deaf? I'm talking to you!" Mido practically screamed in frustration, running after the Hylian. "How dare you show the leader of the Kokiris such disrespect!" he leapt as high as his stubby little legs would take him, managing to grab onto Link's ankle just before the blond was out of reach.

"Come down this instance!" Mido snarled, pulling roughly on the Hylian's boot as he dangled from it.

"If you insist…" Link finally replied in a low voice, letting go of the vines as gravity sent both him and Mido back to the ground. Link landed safely on his feet but Mido… wasn't so lucky, ending up sprawled out face first in the grass.

"A-ah… ah…. _y-you_…!" the rageful Kokiri leader slowly got back to his feet, seething. "This is all your fault! You don't belong here, you never did! If it wasn't for Saria's stupidness of letting you stay I woul-" drawing back, Link swatted Mido square on the nose, with all the force his little ten year old body could manage, which was barely enough to actually hurt but he made it count, one for Mido having just insulted Saria and another for all the years of being bullied and tormented by him. The Kokiri leader cried out as he landed hard on his back, his eyes rolling around in a daze as stars practically whirled about his head. Leaning down, Link picked Mido back up by his shirt and held the now trembling bully by his ear.

"Never insult Saria in front of me. Ever again." he whispered coldly into Mido's cartilage before letting him go, turning his back once more to resume scaling up the vines. Mido stood there in dumbed amazement for a few minutes before slowly turning his head, realizing the entire village had been watching in a similar fashion.

"Well!" he stated, bitterly waving them off. "Don't you all have things to do! Shoo!" the Kokiris quickly dispersed, leaving their embarrassed and upset leader to sulk by himself.


	5. Saria's Tears

She didn't know how much time had past… maybe an hour, maybe a day, maybe even a week, she had no way of telling, the chasm was almost always in total darkness, the taunting beam far above her only reminder of the outside world that had forgotten her along with the constant eerie dripping of water from a nearby stalactite… Saria shivered again, her clothing still damp despite not daring to leave the small bit of sanctuary that was the rock ever since she first climbed on top of it. So there the Kokiri beauty lay, cold, scared, and vulnerable with sporadic emotions of guilt and sorrow coursing through her. What stung the most though, was the lethargic sense of dread in the back of the green haired girl's mind was the look of disappointment on Link's face when Tzia would confide everything to him… if she was able to find him, that is… Saria always could count on her fairy before but now, in a situation like this… she almost hoped that Link never found out, that no one would find out besides Skull Kid who was so egotistical and apathetic he'd never let anyone know… she just couldn't fathom the shame and embarrassment of letting down the boy she loved, even if it cost her her life to avoid it.

That being said, Saria eventually heard a trickling of water upsetting the pool around her, much more forward than the slow and subtle dripping from earlier. Finally opening her deep blue eyes which had otherwise been closed for the past day or so, Saria squinted up at the crevice far above her, blinking as she realized a heavy flow of water was now rushing down into the pool, so much that it almost seemed like the water level was… rising…! Yes, it definitely was, the stone she was on which had originally been almost halfway above the surface was now only a quarter, and by the looks of it, it'd soon be submerged! And then she remembered what Skull Kid had said:

'_Mind you, you're going to get a bit wet, most of these caves are underwater half the year._'

The words echoed hauntingly in her mind as she realized that this indeed was that **half** of the year. Saria began to panic, in all truth the small girl was nowhere near prepared to die, especially in a way as awful and as helpless as this. Scooting up onto her little bum, the Kokiri girl huddled up on her ever dwindling safe haven, continuing to shiver as teardrops formed at the corners of her eyelids, dripping in silent patterns down her pale cheekbones.

"_T-this is all my fault_…" she whispered, her teeth chattering ever so slightly from her chill. She was almost glad the chasm was being flooded now, at least then it hid the sound of her weeping...

* * *

**Another short one, and an angsty at that, but I wanted to check in on Saria again to make sure she was still somewhat alright. I decided to make the second genre hurt/comfort because there's been a lot of tears in these first five chapters and the waterworks are far from over so bring your umbrellas! That's what happens though when you listen to the Song of Healing looped while writing, everything's depressed and anxious.**


	6. Tree Chase Part I

The Lost Woods was abuzz with the tune of Saria's Songs coursing through the dense brush, echoing from her ocarina. The orchestrator however was none other than Skull Kid, jigging merrily atop his tall tree stump in his section of the forest. He piped away on the little wind flute, having missed its lovely music he was so very fond of. He had done this for hours upon hours since he first found it, and the euphoria he was receiving only encouraged him to play onwards. He didn't have a care in the world at this moment, completely lost in the symphony, although… somewhere in the far corners of the imp's mind he couldn't help he had forgotten something… but that was rather irrelevant to him at this point, whatever it was he had forgotten couldn't have been that important! It was only when he spotted a certain enraged blond Hylian with two fairies approaching him from out of the brush did his memory surge and he immediately realized he was in enormous trouble.

"Oh, no…"

Link's elf-like ears had immediately picked up Saria's Song resounding in the air the moment he entered the Lost Woods, following it closely until it lead him to Skull Kid's clearing. As he walked closer he realized that not only had the masked varlet been playing his best friend's music but he also had her ocarina in his thieving fingers, causing him to speed up in anger. He leapt up on the small stump facing opposite the now frozen imp, pointing a finger accusingly at him.

"Where is Saria!? What have you done with her!?" his voice retained its soft volume, but carried

enough aggression to make Skull Kid shiver, especially since he had never heard Link talk before.

"W-woah, woah, hey, Kokiri Kid." he stammered, hiding the ocarina behind him. "H-how's it been? What's all this you're talking about Saria and me doing something to her a-and all that malarkey? I haven't seen her i-"

"_You lie_!" Link interjected, unsheathing his Kokiri Sword from his back scabbard. "You kidnapped me and stole her ocarina! Tzia told me everything! I'll kill you for this!"

"W-what?!" Skull Kid retorted. "I didn't kidnap her! Y-you've got this all wron-"

"Shut up!" Link snapped. "You're going to tell me where Saria is then you're going to hold still

as I cut you to pieces!"

Skull Kid panicked. It was futile trying to explain this, and even though he hadn't actually kidnapped the Kokiri girl he HAD stolen her ocarina, which was enough reason for Link to mutilate him. The only way he could save himself now was to escape and get back to Lake Hylia to rescue Saria himself. Pocketing the ocarina, Skull Kid held his breath as he hopped from his stump onto a nearby branch, snatching onto it and proceeding to hop along the other nearby branches. Link watched him, his mouth agape.

"Coward!" he called out, sheathing his sword and leaping onto Skull Kid's abandoned stump and then the branch, following close behind him.

"Hey! Listen!" Navi quipped as she and her sister flew alongside Link in his pursuit. "Be careful, Link! These trees are tall enough to get seriously injured if you fell from them!"

"I won't be the one who falls, Navi…" Link replied, pulling his slingshot out from his belt and loading a deku seed into it. With careful precision and agility, Link managed to fire off a seed at his target, all while continuing to jump from one branch to the next. The shot grazed the tree merely an inch away from Skull Kid, causing the already flustered imp to become even more frantic, his hesitant footing and cracking nerves being a huge disadvantage against the much more athletic and versatile Hylian now hunting him. The chase was frantic and adrenaline pumping, neither boy could stop for a moment's rest, Skull Kid was too afraid Link would catch up with him and Link was too afraid he'd lose him. Also came the risk as Navi mentioned earlier of falling from the high tiers of the tree branches, twice already Skull Kid had landed hard against a branch and when Link later leapt on it it snapped, forcing the Hylian to immediately jump on another, his adrenaline pumping.

Another deku seed shot whizzed through the air, this one almost grazing the side of Skull Kid's head. The imp squeaked as he nearly lost his footing again, chancing a glance behind him and amazed at how close Link was on his tail. That being said, he nearly fell again as he looked back, just barely being able to grab onto the next branch and pull himself up just in time. The extra tension caused the branch to start snapping at its base. Normally he would leave it be and let Link hop on it to let it break, only allowing the Hylian a split second to react before having to jump to the next branch but then an idea swiftly came to Skull Kid's mind. Bending down on the already straining branch, the imp jumped on it as hard as he could, immediately causing it to break off and only allowing him a moment to get onto the next branch. His notorious laugh echoed as he cut off Link's trail after him, doing the exact same trick to the next branch to even further distance himself from his pursuer. Link let out a frustrated grunt as he realized the foul play, unable to proceed any further now that such a gap had been rendered between the trees. Literally thinking on his toes, Link once more pulled back on his slingshot, aiming carefully, not at Skull Kid this time, but rather the branch he was about to land on.

'_Give you a taste of your own medicine..._' he thought as he let the deku seed fly. The shot soared true and ripped through the branch just as Skull Kid was about to land on it, it immediately gave out from under his weight and before the imp had even a moment to react he found himself falling down, down into the canopy, letting out a shrill shriek of surprise. Link watched his target descend, no one could survive a fall from this height…

'_Serves you right.._.' he thought bitterly.


	7. Tree Chase Part II

Skull Kid was alive. Badly shaken, but still alive. As he had plummeted back to the earth the imp had managed to latch onto one of the lower branches and save himself, from which the impact force caused a sharp pain to run throughout his right arm as he struggled to pull himself fully up onto the branch, panting heavily. Still slightly trembling, Skull Kid slowly crawled over to the base of the tree, sliding down all the way to the trunk. It was a relief to be on firm soil and no longer so far up in the air, as well as being free from the prying eyes of his pursuer. It had been quite an adrenaline rush, and the imp was quite exhausted along with the now irritatingly dull ache in his right arm, he tested it quickly to make sure it wasn't broken, breathing a sigh of relief when he found no fractures in his thin, puppet-like arm. He couldn't afford anymore risky climbing like that though, from now on he would proceed on foot. It wouldn't take long for the Kokiri Kid to locate him so he really had to hurry up and get to Lake Hylia. At least he still had….

Skull Kid's whole body froze up as he patted his belt only to feel nothing hooked to it. Saria's Ocarina was gone! It must have fallen from his belt when he sustained the hard landing a few minutes ago! Frantically, Skull Kid got on his hands and knees, swiping away some of the nearby leaves and brush in a vain hope of finding the ocarina to no avail. He looked around the whole trunk three times over, and then some of the nearby trees as well. He could hear Link approaching from above which caused him to panic even more, diving into a nearby pile of leaves for cover. Skull Kid held his breath as he heard footsteps pass him, presuming them to be Link's, not even chancing a breath of air until the padding of feet had faded off into the distance. Rolling onto his back, Skull Kid felt a pressure on his shoulder blades, adjusting himself to find out what the protrusion was. He couldn't believe his eyes, what he had rolled onto was Saria's Ocarina! Skull Kid laughed happily as he gently picked up the unharmed wind flute, having been cushioned from the fall by the many leaves. This was splendid! He had both avoided capture and now had back the ocarina, so he could now finally rescue Saria. Skull Kid arose from the bushes, feeling quite satisfied with himself, that is… until a deku seed hit him square in his sensitive arm, causing him to reel back into the leaves in pain, staring up at the treetops in bewilderment. There, standing on the branch he had saved himself on, slingshot in hand pointed directly at him, was Link.

"B-but…!" the imp spluttered. "...How?!"

Link shook his head, pulling back another deku seed. "I had a bird's eye view up there." he countered. "I'm actually happy that you didn't die, because I need you to tell me where you're holding Saria before I can properly kill you. Now…" the Hylian aimed his slingshot square between the eyeholes of Skull Kid's mask. "Where is she?"

In a frantic act of self preservation, Skull Kid lifted up Saria's Ocarina, using it as a makeshift shield for his face.

"If you want to shoot me you'll have to shoot through this first!" Link's blue eyes widened as he saw what Skull Kid was holding. He lowered his slingshot, unable to risk bringing any harm to Saria's treasured instrument. "That doesn't belong to you! Give it back!"

"N-no! Not until you let me explain!" Skull Kid retorted, refusing to lower the ocarina.

"Explain what?!" Link countered, feeling vehement frustration towards the imp. "Quit being a coward and put that down!"

"Just let me explain!" Skull Kid countered, his grip on the ocarina tightening. Link sighed, he could easily shoot the imp in his unprotected midsection but he was still uneasy with the ocarina being used as a bartering tool. "You have one minute before I fire!" he stated, meaning it.

Skull Kid peeked up at the Hylian boy, disturbed at what he saw. Link's expression was that of cold anger and hatred being cast down upon him, filled with the desire of vendetta against the perpetrator of Saria's kidnapping. He technically really had at this point kidnapped her, and there was no way he could fully describe the entire predicament, as far as Link was concerned this was an interrogation and one slip up would cause Skull Kid serious injury…. if not worse.

"O-okay, just pay attention." he stammered, slowly pulling himself back to his feet. "I… I didn't kidnap your friend, she-"

"You lie!" Link interrupted, firing another deku seed at Skull Kid, this one striking the imp on his hip and causing him to fall over again.

"Tzia already told me everything. Just tell me where Saria is before I have to hurt you again!" Skull Kid panted as he supported himself on his good arm, staring up at the other boy. "W-wait… Please just let me explain…!"

"I'm not going to let you lie through your teeth, I already know what you did! And now you're trying to cover it up." the Hylian was seething. "How could you?! I trusted you! And you have the audacity to take someone who means more than anything on the entire world to me!?" salty, angry tears started to form at the corners of Link's eyes, trailing down his face as he gritted his teeth. "_I hate you_!"

Drawing another deku seed, Link let it sail into Skull Kid's back, causing the imp to cry out in pain. He repeated this action again in again, wanting to make Skull Kid pay for his crimes but only becoming more and more upset with each shot, his vision being blurred by tears. Navi who had been witnessing this whole ordeal from the air was now silently crying as well, distraught to see her keeper in such a state.

"L-Link! **HEY**! Link!" unable to fathom anymore, the fairy flew up between Link's slingshot, opening her arms wide. "That's enough, Link! T-that's enough!"

Link, who had just been preparing another deku seed immediately halted as Navi got in his path, slowly lowering it downwards.

"Look at yourself! This isn't you!" Navi sobbed, fluttering around in distress. "I care about Saria just as much as you do but all this force and anger?! Killing the Skull Kid isn't going to solve anything, it's only going to make things worse! Won't you please listen to me!?"

Link had listened, he listened deeply. With trembling hands, he placed his slingshot back on his belt and sat down on the branch. "I-I'm…" his voice cracked a little as he put his face in his hands. "I'm sorry… I-I don't know what came over me…."

"Oh, Link…." Navi whispered at the sight of her boy weeping, flying to his shoulder and gently hugging his neck, leaving small, soothing fairy kisses against his light skin. Link emitted a small noise as his little hands scooped up his fairy and held her between his palms, gently caressing her side with his thumb.

"_Shhhhh_…." Navi whispered comfortingly, continuing to nuzzle up against Link. "It's alright, my boy. I promise you, everything is going to be alright. We're going to find her, I promise."

It had been months since he had cried, and it hurt to do so, but it felt good at the same time. Finally able to sustain his tears, Link looked blearily looked down with a gentle fondness towards his fairy, lifting her up to his lips where he gently kissed her little forehead. "Thank you, Navi." he said. "I trust you."


	8. Link's Epiphany

With quivering fingers, Skull Kid slowly lifted himself up from the leaves, his injured arm cradled against his chest, something that tasted of copper and sap dripping from under his mask. Was he bleeding? He didn't even know if it was possible for his kind to bleed. The deku seeds had ceased and that was all that he cared about at that very moment. He had to flee, he had to run away and hide in the woods so that Link couldn't hurt him anymore. Leaning against the tree trunk he slowly clambered back to his feet, swaying a little with vertigo as his whole small little puppet body hurt. Pressing his fingertips out against the bark, the imp bent over, taking off his mask to cough up whatever foul substance had been lingering on his lips, which ended up being a shimmering, rusted orange color. So that is what his blood looked like, it was incredibly unnerving. Readjusting his mask, Skull Kid started to half-run, half-limp away, his good arm stretched out to have a better chance at catching onto one of the many tree trunks if he stumbled, his bad arm still clutched gingerly to his chest.

Having regained his bearings, Link watched as his foil waddled off into the brush, frowning.

"I don't want to hurt him anymore… but… he's the only one who knows where Saria is-"

As if on queue, a small strained noise emitted from behind his head, causing Link to glance back alarmed. It was Tzia, who throughout this whole ordeal had been uncomfortably taciturn. She had an almost ill expression on her face, her green pigment looking much paler than usual.

"Tzia..!" Link exclaimed, moving to the upset fairy, concern all over his Hylian features.

"What's wrong?"

Tzia struggled to speak for a few moments, looking on the verge of tears.

"L-Link…" she whispered, her wings fidgeting with agitation. "T-there's s-something I have t-to tell you…"

Link's crystal blue eyes widened. "What is it Tzia? You can tell me."

Tzia was now softly weeping, causing the boy to gently move his hands about her, holding her in his palms. "Tzia… what's the matter?"

After a few minutes of soft crying, Tzia managed to get a hold of herself, softly wiping her eyes before peeking timidly up at Link.

"Link, I… I-I'm so sorry. I should have told you this before. Saria… she… she technically wasn't kidnapped by Skull Kid."

Link's eyes dilated slightly. "What do you mean?" he asked, bewildered.

Tzia nervously bit her lower lip. "Saria… really, really, _really_ wanted to see you again, as she hadn't in months. She realized though that you were needed for your adventure. B-but… she tried to stage being captured so that you would come and rescue her."

Link's mouth opened slightly. "But… why would she do that?"

Navi let out a sigh. "Because she loves you, sillyhead!" she said in exasperation. Link looked back in shock at his own fairy. "W-what?" he asked, unable to believe his ears.

Saria sighed once more.

"Link, when you were growing up in the Kokiri village there was no one who cared for you more than Saria did! There's no one in the whole kingdom who cares for you more than she does! I knew she was going to miss you, don't you remember the night you left! She was waiting for you on the bridge to see you off, didn't you notice how sad she looked that you were leaving!"

Link's eyes blinked several times in disbelief, trying to make sense of all these rushing epiphanies. "I.." he stammered. "I never… really noticed until now…" his head swam, memories flooding back all the way to when he was born, how Saria had tended to him when he was just a babe, how Saria nurtured and protected him, all those nights they would sit on the tree stump together in her special place looking up under the vast moonlit skies. And then of course, as Navi mentioned the day Link had to leave the forest following the death of the Great Deku Tree, and how she had given him his own ocarina, the look on her face as he ran off into the tunnel… Link felt a few more tears grip at the corners of his eyes, looking down.

"H-how… how come nobody ever tells me these things…!"

* * *

**Happy New Years. There was a bit of a wait for this chapter which wasn't even long, that's what happens when you play World of Warcraft again, kids. I'll see if I can get this story back on the road soon. **


End file.
